NSV, National Socialist People's Welfare Organization 1938 membership badge acquired by a US soldier
Extent and Medium
overall: Height: 1.250 inches (3.175 cm) | Width: 1.500 inches (3.81 cm) | Depth: 0.250 inches (0.635 cm)
Creator(s)
- Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiter-Partei. Schutzstaffel (Issuer)
- Harold B. Goldberg (Subject)
Biographical History
Harold B. Goldberg (1922-2011) was born in Brooklyn, New York to Samuel and Rose Goldberg. Samuel and Rose were born in Russia and immigrated to the United States before the birth of their children. Samuel worked as a presser in a tailor shop. Harold had six siblings and the family spoke Yiddish and English at home. As a young adult Harold worked as a mail carrier and attended City College in New York. On December 7, 1941, Japan bombed Pearl Harbor. The following day the United States declared war on Japan, and on December 11, Germany declared war on the United States. On October 31, 1942 Harold was drafted into the U.S. military. He entered the army on October 31, 1942 as a private, and received serial number 32613738. He served in Europe until the end of the war. Harold then returned home to New York where he married his wife Rita in 1952. The family lived in New York for the rest of their lives.
Archival History
The pin was donated to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in 2013 by the family of Harold Goldberg.
Acquisition
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Collection, Gift of the family of Harold Goldberg
Funding Note: The cataloging of this artifact has been supported by a grant from the Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany.
Scope and Content
National Socialist (Nazi) People's Welfare Organization [NSV: Nationalsozialistische Volkswohlfahrt] 1938 lapel pin badge brought back from the war by Harold Goldberg, an American soldier who served in Europe, circa 1945-1946, during and after World War II. The NSV began in 1932 as a local welfare organization and mainly provided money to poor, deserving families in Berlin. This was a forceful propaganda tool for the Nazi Party which soon centralized and administered the NSV. By 1938, it was one of the largest organizations in Germany. It offered child care, health, and medical services, and promoted Nazi family and population policies. The annual fundraising campaign was a major event throughout Germany.
Conditions Governing Access
No restrictions on access
Conditions Governing Reproduction
No restrictions on use
Physical Characteristics and Technical Requirements
Oval, silver colored, possibly aluminum, metal badge with the black enamelled, silver outlined NSZ logo: a horizontally elongated N, crossed by a vertically elongated S over V, surmounted by a red enamel shield with silver enamelled letters SP. Near the right side edge is a 19, near the left, 38. It has a raised border, a smooth, flat back, and a tube hinge with C-clasp soldered to the back.
Subjects
- Soldiers--United States--Biography.
- Jewish soldiers--United States--Biography.
- World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, American.
- Souvenirs (Keepsakes)--Soldiers--United States--Biography.
Genre
- Object
- Identifying Artifacts